


The Courting Habits of the Ereborean Dwarf

by Lumelle



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Courtship, Cultural Differences, Dwarf Courting, Dwarf Culture & Customs, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-05-18 18:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5937954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bilbo knew, of course, that dwarves could make just about anything needlessly complicated. He did not know just how true this was until Ori initiated his courtship of Fíli and Bilbo got to witness the dwarven courtship with all its strange turns.</p><p>It's a learning opportunity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which There Is a Courtship Offer

When Bilbo had agreed to stay in Erebor at least for the winter and help the dwarves get started on rebuilding everything, he somehow hadn't expected that there would be any sort of formalities happening.

He wasn't sure why he hadn't expected it, really. Sure, their numbers were still small, but it was hardly just the Company anymore, with more immigrants from Iron Hills arriving all the time, all eager to swear loyalty to Thorin in exchange for being part of the restoration of Erebor. And really, even back during the journey when everything had been quite informal as they were united in their shared misery on the road, people had still been a bit more reserved around Thorin. Of course it should not have been a surprise that people were actually treating Thorin as the king he was, and not just the leader of a ragtag bunch of hopeless dreamers.

He had to admit that the first time he had seen Thorin clad in all his best robes after the battle he'd very nearly ducked for cover. Only upon seeing the confusion and hurt on Thorin's face as he backed away had he known that this wasn't the result of gold madness but something else entirely. People expected it, Thorin had explained to him, he was the king and they wanted to see him as such. However, he hadn't seemed any happier about it than Bilbo was, and didn't wear the outfit aside from actual formal appearances.

Well. It was hardly a surprise that Bilbo wasn't the only one with bad memories about Thorin's kingly madness.

The shock of it was somewhat alleviated by the sight of Fíli and Kíli in equally rich clothes, clad in velvet and leather and fur and as eager about it as a faunt with a new waistcoat. It was really quite sweet, the enthusiasm with which they showed Bilbo their new royal garb, while also finally driving home that he did indeed spend most of his time in rather noble company. He had never been quite able to forget Thorin's position, no matter how annoyed or frustrated he might have been with the great king at times, but the rest of the Company had always been just, well, the Company. He'd seen them take piss breaks and heard them snore in the night, and Fíli and Kíli in particular often reminded him of unruly little cousins more than anything. Sure their clothes were of slightly better make than those of some other members of their group, as far as Bilbo could judge such things anyway, and he'd been told that their weapons were very well crafted indeed, but he'd never thought much on it. They were Fíli and Kíli, the two rascals, and he wouldn't have thought twice about pinching their big round ears if they thought to get near a pie before it was done cooling down.

Now, however, he was standing in the throne room and watching the proceedings, saw Fíli standing next to the throne looking actually serious once with his hair neatly braided and gold and gems glinting in it, and found it quite hard to make that image fit with the one he'd built on the road. Even Kíli was relatively serious, standing among those of the Company who were present. Almost everyone seemed to be here today, for all that Bilbo knew — if only in the most vague sense — that this was not nearly always the case. Thorin's court days were usually short and easily concluded, without anything for him to actually do aside from perhaps one or two rather simple cases that really didn't need the attention of the king, but according to Thorin it was all important to the morale and thus he sat court without fail three times a week. Besides Fíli one or two members of the Company were often there to watch the proceedings, Bilbo himself had done so a couple of times, but today just about everyone but the brothers Ri seemed to be present. That was odd, really, considering Dori had been the one who had all but insisted Bilbo should attend today.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait for too long to get his answers. As usual, there was nothing of much importance, except the fact that the King Under the Mountain was there for everyone to see and admire, which Thorin assured Bilbo was the important part. They had just finished dealing with the second and last matter of the day — a very simple case of dispute over living arrangements, which really shouldn't have required the king's attention, but then Bilbo suspected it wouldn't have been very impressive for Thorin to simply sit there without doing a thing — when Balin cleared his throat just as Thorin was about to declare the open court over.

"Actually, Your Majesty, there is another matter that has been brought to your attention." Balin stroked his beard, and Bilbo could have sworn he was hiding a smile. "Would you hear it?"

Thorin frowned, just a little, but then nodded. "Right. Let me hear it."

Balin made a gesture, and a guard by the main door opened it. The open court was held in a slightly smaller hall than the grand throne room, one that was nevertheless better equipped to hold a number of people without anyone actually being in danger of getting knocked off a ledge somewhere. This meant that the walk from the door to the throne was not all that long, and Bilbo recognised the approaching people as soon as they stepped in.

It was the brothers Ri. Well, more specifically, it was Ori, with Dori and Nori following him close behind. Ori seemed a bit tense as he walked up to the throne, but also determined. All three were in their best clothes, hair and beard neatly combed and fastened with expensive-looking beads and clasps. Bilbo had heard others mention that the brothers were all actually considered quite handsome by dwarven standards, and it was really quite easy to believe that now, seeing the way their small audience of a few dozen dwarves besides the Company seemed to all be watching the procession with interest.

The three came to a halt some ways from the throne. Thorin lifted his eyebrows, but his voice was perfectly level as he spoke. "Who are you, and what's the matter you bring before me?" And really, this was just silly, probably everyone in the mountain knew perfectly well who the three were. They were all members of the Company, after all.

"I am Ori, son of Vuori, at your service, Your Majesty. These are my brothers, Dori and Nori." Ori bowed low, then straightened himself. "I come here today to make known my offer of courtship to Fíli, son of Dís. Because his mother is not here, and you are his closest older kin, I bring my offer to you in her stead."

Bilbo gasped despite himself. That had certainly not been what he'd have expected! Most of the audience was shocked as well, if the sudden wave of murmurs was anything to go by. If Thorin was surprised, he hid it well. Fíli's eyes, on the other hand, flew wide as he stared at Ori as though he'd never seen the young scribe before. Ori kept his eyes on Thorin, standing as straight and tall as his small form would allow. Well, small for a dwarf anyway, he still rather towered over Bilbo, but that was beside the point.

"I see." Thorin nodded slowly. "And do you have a gift to go with the offer?"

"I do." Ori nodded at Nori, who stepped forward, producing a neatly wrapped package from somewhere on his person. He handed it to Ori, who in turn passed it to Thorin. Thorin opened the package very carefully, drawing out what seemed to be a knitted scarf. As he held it up for everyone to see, Bilbo's eyes caught the light glinting off something small within the fabric.

"Oh," murmured Bofur by Bilbo's side. "That's clever, that is."

"What is?" Bilbo frowned, trying to peer at the scarf. Was there something he was missing? Or was the scarf itself somehow significant? It made sense as a gift, Ori could often be seen knitting, but if there was some significance to such an accessory Bilbo did not know it.

"It's the gems, you see." Bofur gestured toward the scarf, where Bilbo could indeed see jewels caught in the fabric. He supposed they were beads added during the knitting process, as it seemed the most sensible way of adding such things. "Their names, the first letters, they spell out Fíli's name. Fire opal, iolite, and lapis lazuli. Very clever of the lad."

"Indeed." Glóin stroked his beard, nodding in approval. "Very good luck, I would say."

Bilbo was not even going to question how Bofur could tell the gemstones for certain even though he couldn't have gotten a close look at any point. There was another matter, though, which he felt more comfortable addressing. "Why would that be good luck, then?"

"The first courting gift must always have the name of the recipient, you see, to show that you made it for them and didn't just grab something you already had at hand. The actual gift doesn't really matter, not what it is or how expensive it is, as long as you made it yourself and it's got their name in it somehow."

"Except it's good luck if you can do that without actually writing the name." Kíli was grinning openly, arms crossed over his chest as though he were watching a show. "Shouldn't go around putting other people's names on things all willy-nilly, after all."

"You knew about this." As had quite a few other members of the Company, judging by the fact that most of them seemed to be smiling and chuckling rather than in any way surprised.

Kíli's grin grew wider, making him look more like a little child playing dress-up in expensive clothes than an actual respectable prince of Durin in his formal court outfit. "Of course I did! Been waiting for him to get on with it for a while now. I know he's been eyeing Fíli for ages now, it's about time something happened."

"Ah. Is that quite appropriate, though?"

Now, he was met by confused gazes from all around. "Why wouldn't it be?" Bofur asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. "Because they're both lads? I mean, I know some people of other races are opposed to that sort of thing, but you've never blinked an eye at Dwalin and Nori being involved."

"No, nothing like that!" Bilbo waved a hand, hoping to quickly banish any such suspicions. "I've no problem with that sort of thing! Just… Fíli's a prince, right? And I know Ori's one of the company and somehow related to the royal line and everything, but he's still, well, not a noble. Is it appropriate for him to just ask to court the crown prince? Don't you dwarves have a lot of ceremony and such about hierarchies?"

"Well, yes, of course, but that hardly matters in courting!" Kíli still looked slightly baffled. "And Ori asking to court him is the only way it could happen! It's not like Fíli can go ask Ori himself, you know."

"And why not?" He was going to get a headache, Bilbo just knew it.

"Because we do care about hierarchy very much." Glóin shrugged. "However much we love our formalities, any dwarf is free to marry any other, rank or status be damned. However, it wouldn't do for someone to use their position to coerce another into courting. So, if two dwarves are of different standing, the lower one must make the offer."

"That… sounds sensible, I guess." Bilbo looked over to the throne, where Fíli had apparently joined Thorin in their inspection of the scarf, the two of them going over what seemed to be every last stitch. Ori stood patiently before them, and if he was nervous about the results of whatever examination was going on, he didn't show it. Dori and Nori stood at his either shoulder, neither moving at all as they waited. "And this gift and inspection, and involving their families? Is that also a rule?"

"That's tradition more than rule, but very important, indeed." Bofur tugged at one of his pigtails. "If the person you're courting has living family, you should make your offer through their parents or other appropriate kin, or a friend if they're the head of their household. They don't actually get to do the approving or rejecting, that's for the dwarf themselves to do, but they should be aware at least. Dori and Nori weren't really required, but it's a nice touch. Shows that they won't be giving Fíli any trouble."

"And the gift has to be examined closely, or it'd be a grave insult. It's a good sign, really, they could only refuse to inspect it if Fíli planned to reject the offer." Kíli did not seem too worried about that happening, though. "If he accepted without studying the gift, that'd say he expects it to be flawed so he's pretending there's no reason to reject it, and that'd be an insult indeed. It's not that they doubt Ori's skill, rather they know it's going to be good so they can accept it properly."

Bilbo was about to say something about dwarves being overly complicated and difficult, but just then Fíli murmured something to Thorin, then stepped back. Thorin nodded, and turned his gaze from the scarf to Ori. "Your gift has been accepted, and your offer with it," he said, and Bilbo could practically feel the wave of relief flowing through the Company. "Know that you are expected to present your next gift exactly a month from now."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ori bowed again, then turned and walked away, Dori and Nori following him. For a moment, the entire throne room seemed to be quiet.

The moment the brothers Ri disappeared through a door, everyone seemed to burst into action at once. The audience was talking openly now, and the Company seemed even louder despite their clearly inferior numbers. There were shouts and laughs and coin purses exchanged, and Kíli rushed forward to hug his brother, not caring one bit that they were still technically in the middle of a very official court meeting. Even Thorin relaxed a little on his throne, smiling as he looked at his nephews, Kíli grinning and laughing and Fíli looking a little dazed still.

As Bilbo was looking at Thorin to see his reaction, Thorin seemed to notice his attention, or else turned towards him by coincidence. Either way, their eyes met briefly, and Bilbo saw Thorin's lips twitching into a little smile. He managed one in turn. Sure, he was still a bit confused, and he certainly thought dwarves were keeping with their tendency to make everything far more complicated than it needed to be, but he was genuinely happy for the boys.

Of course, this was before he knew just how complicated dwarves could make a simple matter of courtship.


	2. In Which There Is Miscommunication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course, the strangeness of dwarven courting doesn't end with the offer. Luckily Bilbo actually has people who can explain the details that Fili isn't so clear on. After all, someone has to explain things to the even more confused Tauriel...

Bilbo's next indication that dwarves were, indeed, needlessly complicated came the very next day at breakfast.

He'd taken to sharing breakfast and dinner with the royal family ever since the princes had dragged him into a room in the royal apartments and refused to hear any arguments. Bilbo had felt a bit awkward about it at first, feeling like an intruder, but since Thorin didn't seem to mind, he had slowly relaxed about the matter until it had become an ordinary part of his daily routine. They all met for breakfast before dispersing into their various activities of the day, then gathered again for dinner, when they didn't dine with the rest of the Company. Bilbo might have expected it to get stifling before long, but rather found himself rather enjoying the feeling of togetherness and, dare he say, family as part of his daily life. For all that he'd been quite happy with his solitude back in Hobbiton, their journey to Erebor had apparently left him unable to stand being all alone for too long.

Today the breakfast seemed the usual sort, the dwarves already well into their eating as Bilbo joined them. This was nothing unusual, considering Bilbo had no duties to hurry to. However, he was happy to see Fíli was beaming as he flipped through a few documents that Bilbo's proper hobbit side wanted to insist had no place in the breakfast table. Fíli quickly stuffed food into his mouth before he gathered his things and stood up from the table, rushing to the door to get to some scheduled errand or another, or quite possibly to meet Ori for a moment before they were both too busy with the errands of the day.

Right at the door Fíli seemed to remember something, as he turned back, chewing thoughtfully on the rest of his food and swallowing. "Oh, and Bilbo?" As Bilbo made a non-committal sound, Fíli grinned. "Could I ask you not to say Ori's name?" Then, before Bilbo had any chance of thinking of a coherent response, he was gone, grin and papers and all.

Bilbo stared after Fíli, then turned to look at Thorin and Kíli. "Well." He shook his head. "I'm not sure if I should feel hurt or insulted." Of all the things!

"Honoured is more like it, but I cannot blame you for the confusion. Fíli wasn't exactly clear in his request." Thorin's lips twitched, no doubt at Bilbo's baffled expression. "It's a tradition of ours, regarding courtship. Since family is not supposed to influence the decision of the couple, out of respect we won't mention the name of his intended until the final gifts have been exchanged and everything settled as certain. We may still speak of the young scribe, of course, that's not the issue, we just won't use the exact name."

"It's expected of family without even being asked, and masters, too. Anyone else might be asked, though, if he wants. That Fíli asked you not to mention the name means he's saying your opinion is important to him." Kíli grinned. "I know he's going to ask Dwalin, too, but probably not Balin. Sure, he was our teacher when we were younger, but since he was the master of a certain scribe he can't use Fíli's name, so it would get a bit too complicated if he couldn't say the other name, too."

"You dwarves really make everything far too complicated." Bilbo tsked. "And I take it this counts even when Fíli's not around to hear?"

"Aye. It's symbolic more than anything, not an actual way of preventing us from discussing the matter." Thorin chuckled. "Not that I think anything could sway a true Durin's mind once it's been set. We might as well start thinking of what to wear for the wedding."

"He certainly seems happy about the way things are going." That, at least, Bilbo understood even without explanations. "What am I supposed to say if I need to address, ah, the scribe who's courting him?"

"I'm sure you can be creative." Kíli grinned as Bilbo gave him an unimpressed look. "Well, the traditional way would be to just say Fíli's intended. I know it sounds a bit clumsy, but it's the best we can do in Westron. In Khuzdul we have a specific word that's only used for this phase, but it doesn't really translate well."

"I suppose I'll try my best to make it work." Bilbo sighed, shaking his head. "You dwarves just love making things difficult, don't you?"

"I don't see how this is difficult." Thorin frowned. "If we weren't speaking about his intended at all, that would be difficult. In the old days some people actually stuck to that. Clearly this is a simpler way of doing things."

"Ah, let me correct my statement. Even your simple solutions are overly difficult." Bilbo shook his head. "Back in the Shire, we don't have anything like that. And you'd better believe everyone will be giving their opinion on every betrothal in the village. I've had cousins dropping by for tea just to share their thoughts on the second cousin thinking of marriage who neither of us has seen in five years."

"That sounds terrible." Kíli was the one to frown now. "How is it anyone else's business?"

"We hobbits like to get involved in everything, whether it's our business or not. I thought you'd know that by now." Bilbo chuckled at their grave faces. "Don't worry, though, I won't meddle! I'm not exactly your typical hobbit, now am I?"

"How should we know? You're the only hobbit we actually know." Kíli was starting to smile again, though, and that was what really mattered. "Not that I think you could change Fíli's mind anyway, not now. You'd think he's walking on a mountain top, his head's so far up in the clouds."

"And you know nothing about young love, I'm sure." Bilbo couldn't help the bit of teasing. "Well. I hope I'll be informed in a bit more detail if there's anything else I have to do or avoid doing, since apparently I've been made part of this merry mess somehow."

"Well, of course you are part of it." Thorin seemed almost surprised that he would ever suggest otherwise. "The decision may belong to the couple alone, but that doesn't mean the family doesn't matter at all."

"Ah." No, he was not going to tear up at that, thank you very much, no matter how much his dwarves seemed to be trying to accomplish that. Though then, he supposed he could not complain about anything when he was referring to them as his dwarves, if only in his head. "I suppose I'd better get used to not using the forbidden name for the time being."

"Well, it won't be for too long. There's three gifts Fíli's intended has to give, each a month apart, and at the end of it Fíli's supposed to either accept or reject him. Not that there's much of a chance of rejection, but you know, something might crack his skull and shake his brain a bit too much so he ends up doing something stupid. And after the last gift we can say the name again, since the decision's been made for good, even if we're still waiting for the wedding."

"So three months at most. I think I can do that for Fíli." Bilbo smiled. "And his intended, of course."

"Of course." Thorin nodded. "Now, as entertaining as this has been, I'm afraid Fíli is not the only one with business to attend to. And Kíli, as I recall Dwalin wanted to see you for training. I hope we will see you at dinner, Bilbo?"

"Count on it." Bilbo smiled, reaching to get some more food as Kíli and Thorin both stood up from the table. There was no sense in letting the food go to waste, after all. "And if you see Fíli before then, let him know that us poor hobbits might need some more instructions from time to time."

"Will do!" Kíli rushed off before Thorin, no doubt reluctant to anger Dwalin, while the king still took the time to nod at Bilbo before heading out. He nodded in response and went on with his breakfast. The dwarves might not have understood the appeal of more mealtimes, but at least they were firm believers in eating well when you did eat, as long as the resources were there, anyway.

He supposed it was a good thing to know there were some things dwarves weren't entirely ridiculous about.

*

Bilbo had to admit it was nice not to be the only not-dwarf in the mountain.

Not that he didn't like his dwarves, no; all the time on the road with the Company had rather dulled him to the worse quirks of the typical dwarf. They had their stranger habits, of course, and sometimes he found himself quite exasperated with them, but they were still a lot more pleasant than most of his hobbit neighbours had been. He had chosen to stay in the mountain for the time being, hadn't he?

However accepting or at least tolerant he was of the dwarven ways, though, it was still nice to sometimes have someone to talk to who understood his bafflement about them. And, lucky him, Tauriel provided him with such company. No doubt he was serving a similar role to poor Tauriel, who didn't even have the advantage of having spent the entire journey with the dwarves with at least grudging acceptance from most of them.

Of course, Kíli seemed to like her well enough to make up for the mistrust of his entire race, which Bilbo found quite sweet to say the least. It was always nice to watch young love develop, for all that both parties were actually older than him in this case.

Right now, though, Tauriel seemed to be in something of a distressed mindset, clutching her cup of tea without even tasting the drink.

"I am simply not sure what is wrong," she sighed, shaking her head. "I was certain things were going well, but now… I am not so sure at all."

"Oh?" Bilbo frowned, taking a sip of his own tea. Rather surprisingly there were more dwarves than just Dori who could appreciate a nice cup of tea, and the supply caravans from Iron Hills brought more on a regular basis, so he could at last enjoy a hot cup whenever he felt like it. "What do you mean by that?"

"I just do not know if Kíli is serious at all." Tauriel frowned down at her tea as though it had personally offended her. "He always speaks as though he has great feelings for me, but… perhaps it is all some kind of a game."

"Now, that I don't believe for a moment." The thought of it! "The lad is quite clearly smitten with you, anyone who's ever been within earshot when he goes on about you would know that. Besides, I don't think he would be capable of such cruelty if he tried. Kíli may be mischievous, but not outright mean. I'm not sure he would purposefully offend even an orc unless they insulted him first."

"Then I must be worse than an orc, since it seems he has no interest in me beyond toying with me. He keeps speaking of love and stars and all sorts of pretty things, but never once has he even mentioned courtship, or any sort of proper thing."

"Ah, right. I think I see what the problem is." Bilbo sighed, shaking his head. Dwarves, always making more trouble for themselves! "It's not that he's not interested, my dear. In fact, I rather believe he is very much interested in you. He just can't show it, that's all."

"But why not?" Tauriel blinked, looking confused. "Is it because of his uncle? I thought Thorin had given his acceptance, however grudging it may be."

"Oh, no, nothing like that. If there's one thing I've learnt about dwarven courtship, it's that the couple themselves have the final call, for all that the family may be involved. No, my dear, Thorin isn't the obstacle. The problem here is quite simply that Kíli expects you to take the first official step."

"What?" Tauriel's eyes widened. "But — that would be most improper! He is a prince, is he not?"

"It's the way dwarves do these things, I'm afraid." And yet Bilbo couldn't help smiling just a bit. Fond exasperation, that was all it was. "He's a prince, all right, and because of that, you must be the one to offer. That way nobody can say there was any pressuring going on, or that he abused his position. You weren't there when our young scribe made his offer to Fíli, but let me assure you that's the way it went, and Fíli is the crown prince and first heir."

"So… it would not be against custom for me to make the offer?"

"Quite the opposite, from what I have heard. You'll want to do it right, but I'm sure there are people who would be happy to help you with that. I'm assuming you don't want to ask Kíli himself, but Bofur was really quite helpful when I was confused and I don't think he'd protest at helping you, or Balin would know all about the old customs. The courting happens with gifts, but aside from the first one I know very little about what's required, so you really should ask a dwarf about it."

"Well." Tauriel set her cup down, still untouched. "I think I might do exactly that. If you would excuse me?"

"Certainly, my dear." Bilbo chuckled. "I suppose you'll want to get started as soon as you can with this. In the meantime, though, please rest assured that Kíli seems very much in love with you. Anyone you ask will tell you the same thing, really. There is no way for you to fail, not unless you carve your gift from the bones of his ancestors or something similarly egregious." He paused, considering. "Though, this being Kíli, he might yet find a way to turn that around to being a good thing, he's so eager to love you."

"I do hope I will not do anything quite that shocking, but thank you for the advice nevertheless." Tauriel smiled. "You have brought me great relief, Master Hobbit."

"I keep telling you, just Bilbo will be quite fine." As Tauriel turned to head for the door, something else occurred to Bilbo that the dwarves might not remember to mention. "Oh, and another thing! Don't get worried if people around Kíli won't use your name after you make the offer. Not mentioning your name during the courtship period is a way of showing respect, or something."

Tauriel opened her mouth as though to speak, then snapped it shut again. "I will not ask," she said, sighing quite deeply. "Somehow, I do not think the answer would benefit me all that much."

"We are dealing with dwarves, my friend," Bilbo said, returning her smile. "I rather fear that will often be the case."

And yet here they were, a hobbit and an elf, trying their best to carve out a life in a dwarven mountain.

Well. He supposed carving it would be the best way to deal with a dwarven settlement, anyway.


	3. In Which There Are Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her talk with Bilbo, Tauriel has something to present to Kíli — by way of Thorin, of course, she is trying to be proper after all. Her gift is appreciated, though possibly not as much as Bilbo appreciates a certain half-dressed dwarven king.
> 
> Of course, sometimes dwarven customs are difficult even for dwarves, as Bilbo realises when Ori comes to him with worries about his final gift to Fíli.

Much to his surprise, Bilbo had found he rather enjoyed watching his dwarves spar.

Well. To call them 'his' dwarves was probably something of a misnomer, he had no actual claim over any of them after all, but they were the ones out of all the dwarves in the mountain that he actually knew and liked, so they were still his in a sense. And, as he had discovered during the journey, most of them engaged in battle practice from time to time. The royal family and Dwalin were the most frequent offenders, there had hardly been a day on the road when Dwalin hadn't run the princes through a drill or two before bed, but apparently among dwarves the lines between warrior and civilian were rather thin and wavering, particularly on the road with orcs and foes of all kinds chasing them.

He was quite sure he would never forget the time he had seen Ori, little studious Ori take down a small deer with a well-placed shot from the slingshot Bilbo had, until that moment, thought was little more than a toy. Of course, when he had later asked to tale a look at the slingshot, he had discovered he could not draw it back even an inch. Bilbo wasn't sure what to be more impressed at, the strange material used in the bands, or the apparent ease with which Ori handled the thing.

Ori was training with more than just the slingshot now, as apparently Fíli thought training his intended to fight was the perfect way to spend more time together. Luckily for him, Ori seemed to agree, particularly as this meant Fíli had frequent excuses for getting very close to him to shift his grip or correct his stance. It had been over a month since Ori's initial offer, and he had already given Fíli one of his courting gifts, but the two still often acted as though they had only just become aware of their mutual attraction, all bashful glances and careful touches. Bilbo thought this was kind of adorable, in the sort of violent way that seemed to suit his dwarves very well, and everyone else seemed to share his opinion, where they didn't simply find it amusing.

Ori and Fíli were not the only ones on the training grounds today, with Bilbo sitting in the audience seats and enjoying a good pipe. Kíli and Thorin were there too, working on Kíli's swordsmanship, as apparently mastery of one weapon was not enough for a prince of Durin. Bilbo didn't understand much of such things, beyond the few simple lessons he'd been given on the road so he didn't stab himself in the arse with his little knife, as Dwalin had put it so charmingly, but even he could tell they were both extremely skilled and it was a joy to watch them spar.

The fact that Thorin had decided to entirely forgo a shirt at some point was completely incidental to his enjoyment of the sight, of course. He only liked the display of skill and hard work, naturally.

"They are quite beautiful, aren't they?"

Bilbo was surprised to find himself addressed out of the blue, and looked up to find Tauriel standing at his side. She was looking down to the training field, where Kíli had joined his uncle in shirtlessness. There was an awful lot of bare skin and muscle on display, and truly, that was just distracting.

"I suppose so." He wasn't about to lie, not when it would have been so obvious. "I'm no expert on dwarven beauty, mind."

"I doubt either of us are." Tauriel chuckled. "I was told by my friend Legolas that dwarves are awfully hairy, you know. I doubt he even realised how right he was."

"Well, it depends." Bilbo shook his head, mouthing at the bit of his pipe. "Their feet are just frightfully bare. But, yes, they do seem fairly hairy otherwise." The beards were obvious, of course, and he often saw the hairy forearms when one dwarf or another saw a reason to roll up their sleeves, and right now they were treated to the sight of two rather well-furred chests. Not that he was looking at Kíli's chest, that was all for Tauriel to enjoy, though that naturally didn't mean he was looking at Thorin's chest either. He was looking at no chest in particular, no sir, he was only enjoying the display of fighting skills, and that was the story he was sticking to.

"Sometimes I wonder if I find myself liking the dwarven form because it belongs to him, or if I was always meant to be drawn to such things and that is why no elf could hold my interest." Tauriel shook her head, looking almost amused. "But I suppose it does not matter either way now, does it?"

"I suppose not, no." Bilbo watched as Tauriel took the last few steps down to the training field. She was holding a scroll of some sort, he noted idly. He wondered what that could be about.

"Your Majesty?" At Tauriel's call, the four currently training down on the field all stopped, turning their attention to him. Bilbo rather suspected the few dwarves scattered about the audience seats all did the same. He certainly was watching very intently. "I do apologise for interrupting you, but could I steal a moment of your time?"

Thorin lowered his practice sword, wiping some sweat off his forehead as he gave Tauriel a solemn nod. "I'm listening."

Tauriel stood up even straighter, now, if that were even possible, her voice ringing loud and clear over the suddenly hushed area. "I am Tauriel, formerly of Greenwood," she announced. "I come here today to make known my offer of courtship to Kíli, son of Dís. Because his mother is not here, and you are his closest older kin, I bring my offer to you in her stead."

Kíli actually dropped his sword, and Bilbo could see Fíli's face starting to glow with a sort of glee. Thorin, however, seemed as unaffected as he had been by Ori's offer to Fíli. "And do you have a gift to go with your offer?"

"I do." At this point Bilbo was busy jogging over, not wanting to be left out this time, when things weren't quite so formal and stuffy and all. Thus he was quite close as Tauriel handed Thorin the scroll she had been holding, stepping back to stand at attention as she awaited his verdict.

Clearly Bilbo wasn't the only one curious, as besides Kíli, Fíli and Ori both hurried closer, peeking over Thorin's shoulders as he opened the scroll. Bilbo managed to find a spot at Thorin's elbow that didn't require him to try to hop up and down to catch a glimpse of the picture revealed.

It was a painting, he found, done in rather fine hand, with some pretty, colourful inks that he would have to ask her about later. It was a beautiful scene from a forest, vibrant and green, with a few birds sitting on the branches of a tree circled all around by a creeping vine.

"That's a kestrel," Kíli murmured, his eyes studying every detail of the painting. "And those are larks for sure."

"Aye, you're right," Thorin admitted, nodding solemnly. "And what I see here on the tree appears to be ivy."

Bilbo stepped away as Fíli and Ori did, giving Thorin and Kíli space for a private discussion. Not that there was a lot of it, he noted; while they did spend their time inspecting the offered gift, there wasn't a whole lot said. Not that he had any doubt of the outcome, anyway. Neither did Tauriel, it seemed, or else she was just being as unreadable as only an elf could, standing still and waiting to hear something without any change in her expression.

Finally, Kíli murmured something to Thorin and stepped back, while the king nodded and rolled up the scroll again. "Your gift has been accepted, and your offer with it," he announced, and he really looked quite majestic even with the still missing shirt. "Know that you are expected to present your next gift exactly a month from now."

Tauriel bowed, brief and elegant. "Thank you, Your Majesty." Then, her unaffected demeanour cracked for a brief moment as she glanced at Kíli and smiled, before turning away with a toss of her long hair.

It was quite clear no more training was going to happen right now, with Fíli drawing his brother into a hug with a joyful shout much like Kíli had done to him when their positions had been reversed. Bilbo trailed after Thorin as the king walked over to the edge of the field, where he had earlier discarded his shirt.

"I suppose you had a hand in this." Thorin didn't even have the decency to frame it as a question.

"Not as much as you'd think." Bilbo shrugged. "I only told her the reason Kíli didn't speak of anything more serious was because he was expecting her to make the first move, that's all. I didn't tell her the details, I don't know them well enough myself, though I did point out some friends she could ask for more information." As Thorin didn't really react one way or another, he added, "I'm glad you're not opposing this."

"It's not my place to do so. If his heart is set on her, there's nothing I can do that could change it. He's a dwarf, for all his strange tastes, and a dwarf of Durin's line at that. I'd have more luck telling the mountain to turn than trying to sway his heart."

"You're right there, I'd wager." Bilbo shook his head, looking at the brightly beaming younger prince. "Even so, he can be quite foolish, it seems. At the very least he should have told her what was expected, rather than let her fret and worry that he was only toying with her."

"He's young yet, and knows little of the world. No doubt he was only trying to be respectful toward her, in the only way he knew how. Foolish he can be, and sometimes rash, but I have known the lad all his life and never found him to be cruel." Thorin picked up his shirt and pulled it on, and Bilbo tried not to feel too disappointed. That was just ridiculous, after all. "I would rather see him do a foolish thing in his attempts to be proper and honourable towards his intended than have him do what he's been taught is forceful and unacceptable because he decides on his own such rules don't apply in his case."

"You're right there, of course." Bilbo nodded in agreement. "I suppose we are lucky she came to me with her worries instead of waiting much longer."

"And we are lucky indeed you thought to give her proper advice." Thorin smirked. "In fact, I feel I should employ you to do some more advice-giving."

"Oh?" Bilbo blinked in surprise. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I would do it myself, but somehow I think the lads would both flee rather than hear such things from me." Thorin shook his head. "Could you tell Fíli that if he has his intended stay the night, the proper thing to do is invite him over for the family breakfast rather than have him sneak out like a thief? I can almost guarantee it'll be the less awkward option than my running into him on his way out. And the same goes for Kíli and his elf. If you're taking them to bed, you ought to keep them fed, as their mother used to say when she dragged her own intended to the family table."

"I, ah." Oh, Green Lady, what was he supposed to say to that? "I'm sure Fíli and his intended were just having a lovely conversation late into the night?"

"I'm not actually entirely naive, Master Hobbit, nor am I old enough to have forgotten what it means to be young." Thorin snorted. "If you'll notice, I'm not asking them to stop. Quite the contrary, I was hoping you could convince them I won't be horrendously scandalised by evidence of nightly visitors."

"I'll pass the word along." Though why Thorin imagined it would be less awkward coming from Bilbo, he had no idea. "You dwarves really are quite strange creatures, you know." Not that hobbits were strangers to a quick tumble or two before marriage, anything but, but no proper hobbit would have even dreamed of flaunting such things in front of their whole family so.

"I think you mean practical." Thorin smiled, now, mirth filling his eyes, and goodness, this was just not good for Bilbo's heart, not good at all.

He really ought to stop getting so distracted by Thorin so often. This was getting simply ridiculous.

*

"Bilbo?"

Bilbo looked up from his writing, smiling as he saw Ori in the doorway, one way still lifted up to knock the door frame. "Ah, hello there." And really, it was still just ridiculous that he couldn't just call Ori by his name. "Did you need me for something?"

"Actually, yes." Ori walked into the little room Bilbo had claimed as his office. It was still quite bare, though he was doing his best to make it feel more homey by including all sorts of little things he had picked up from the trading caravans. "It's — it's about my gifts to Fíli."

"Oh?" Bilbo blinked, pushing aside the page he was working on. "What about them? I thought you were doing rather well in that regard. He certainly loved your first one." Fíli absolutely had, and had told so to anyone who would stay still long enough to listen. Ori had made him a knitted pair of gloves, designed to keep his hands warm while still being flexible enough to allow him to do his fancier tricks with knives and such, though from the way Fíli spoke of them you'd have thought they were made of the hair of the Valar instead of plain ordinary wool.

"Aye, he did, and I'm glad for it," Ori said, a smile briefly curling his lips before he sighed. "It's just — well. I've my next one almost ready, which is good since I'm running out of time, but for the last one, I don't have any idea what I could do."

"And there aren't any traditions on what is appropriate to give? Something for you to use as a starting point, at least?" He would be surprised if there weren't any. Dwarves certainly seemed to have traditions about everything else.

"There are, but it's not exactly helping in this case." Ori looked down, fiddling with the hem of his sleeve. "It's — the first one, that's the gift of the hand, it's got to be useful. So I made him the gloves. And the second is the gift of the home, it's supposed to be something to be used in our home together, if that ever happens. For that, I'm almost finished with a blanket I'm making, I'll have it done in time. But the last one, it's supposed to be the gift of the heart. Something that's got to do with what Fíli likes, what his interests are, who he truly is, and I — I can't do anything for that."

"Now, I know that's simply not true." How Ori could even think something so ridiculous, Bilbo wasn't sure.

"But it is." Ori sounded rather despaired. "My skills are pretty limited, and I'm not exactly the most proper dwarf ever. If I was a blacksmith I could make him a weapon of some sort, of something suited for his station if I was a jeweller, or some armour or — anything that isn't a knitter and a scribe." He looked awfully downcast, now. "It's not that I don't know Fíli, because I do. I know what he likes and what's important to him, that's not the problem, it's just —" Ori paused and then sighed. "All of a sudden I'm not sure I'm the right dwarf to be courting him at all."

"Oh, now that's just ridiculous." Bilbo stood up from his desk, now, circling it to draw Ori into a hug. It was a bit strange, since even a small dwarf was still quite a bit larger than Bilbo, but clearly the lad needed it right now. "You are the best dwarf for Fíli, and don't you ever doubt it. You make him smile, and he wants to make you smile, and that's more important than any amount of forges and anvils. And don't you dare say you're unsuited for him because you are a scribe! I've seen a lot of this whole ruling business from the side these past months, and it seems to me the royals wouldn't get anything done without a few competent scribes. Thorin constantly relies on Balin, Fíli will be lucky to have a proper scribe at his side who he can trust without any doubts."

"Right." Ori still looked somewhat downhearted. "That doesn't change the fact that there's nothing I can make for his heart."

"Nonsense." Bilbo patted Ori's shoulders. "You're just thinking about it all wrong, that's all. It's the gift of the heart, not of the crown. Sure, Fíli's a warrior and he's a prince, but that's not all he is. If he wasn't Thorin's heir, would this be simpler then? Would you have these doubts then?"

"But I can't just ignore that!" Ori protested. "It's part of who he is!"

"Of course it is, but only a part. I think at the moment you're only focusing on that part and forgetting everything else." Bilbo smiled in what he hoped was an encouraging way. "I may not be a dwarf, and all this is pretty strange to me, but to me a gift of the heart sounds like it should be about the heart. Keep it simple, my lad. Think of something the Fíli back on the road would have loved, and I guarantee you the Fíli of now will love it just the same, doubly so because it's from you."

"I — right." Ori still looked a but dubious, but at least he straightened. "I'll try to do that, then."

"That's a good lad." Bilbo patted him on the shoulder once more, however strange it was, with Ori being taller than him. "Don't fret, all right? And when you do get an idea, if you are unsure, just ask me or Kíli or someone. I'm sure anyone would be quite happy to tell you what they think about your plans, so you'll know beforehand if you're entirely lost. Not that I think that would happen, mind."

"Right." Ori nodded, a look of determination entering his eyes. "I'll think of something."

"I know you will." Bilbo smiled, then dropped his voice down to a conspiratorial whisper. "Between you and I, I think Fíli would be perfectly happy if you gave him a knotted piece of yarn, just because it came from you, but I don't think Dori would approve of that. But Dori's not the one who has to marry you, so, you know, there's always a fall-back plan."

Ori chuckled, and while the sound was a bit weak, it was sincere enough.

Good. The last thing Bilbo needed were his ridiculous dwarves making more problems for themselves.


	4. In Which There Is Courtship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ori presents his final gift to Fíli, and receives an even better response than might have been expected.
> 
> Of course, with their courtship now official, it will soon be their turn to watch from the side as a certain hobbit makes use of everything he has learnt.

It was, Bilbo had to say, the most formal casual gathering he had ever attended. Or quite possibly the most casual formal meeting, he wasn't entirely sure. He was still not very clear on how formal or not so this whole courting thing was supposed to be. Ori's offer had certainly been formal to the last detail, and while Tauriel's had been made in a much more casual manner it had still followed the same rules and structures.

Now, the Company was gathered all in one room as they sometimes did for a casual evening together, with only Ori missing this time. Yet Bilbo knew very well from Thorin's detailed invitation that the time and place had been chosen in advance, and care had been taken to make sure everyone important was present, which lent an air of formality even if the setting was rather less grand than the throne room of the first offer. Though then, it was a serious enough situation, from what he had been told. Depending on how Fíli replied to Ori's last gift, they would either be officially betrothed or the courtship formally refused. Not that there was any actual doubt as to what would happen, not to anyone who had seen one of Fíli's soppy looks, but it was still enough to make it an important moment.

Ori arrived precisely on time, as he usually did, and if he was nervous he didn't show it, looking as determined as he had been when he first declared his intentions for Smaug. He ignored most of the Company, only pausing to give Thorin a small nod, heading straight to Fíli.

"Fíli, son of Tuli." Ori's voice wavered, just a little, if one listened to it, but nobody here was likely to think any worse of him for it. "I bring you my final gift, my gift of the heart, in the hopes that it gives you joy and shows you my love." He offered Fíli a simple scroll, closed with a purple ribbon, the colour of his mother's line as he had told Bilbo during one of their conversations.

"I thank you for your gift," Fíli replied, looking somewhat curious as he accepted the scroll. He opened it, frowning a bit before looking up at Ori. "This is…"

"It's, ah. It's lyrics." Ori wet his lips, all the nerves he hadn't shown before coming to the surface at once. "For the song you're always playing for me."

"Ori…" Fíli trailed off, eyes locked on his intended as he clutched the scroll in his hands, his knuckles paling. For a moment he was quiet, with poor Ori looking more nervous by the moment.

"Fíli!" Kíli hissed loudly enough for everyone to hear, nudging his brother. "Fíli, you're supposed to do something!"

"Right! Right." Fíli seemed a little flustered, rolling up the scroll and slipping it inside his vest for safekeeping before reaching for a small box Kíli was reaching out to him. "Ori, son of Vuori," he said in very formal tones, though he couldn't keep a hint of a smile off his face. "I have considered your offer, and wish to give you my answer. I hope that you will accept it."

"Now, this is interesting," Bofur murmured from next to Bilbo as they watched Ori very carefully taking the box from Fíli. "Can't wait to see what the lad has prepared."

"Oh?" Bilbo blinked. "You mean it's not sure what his gift is going to be?"

"Oh, it's going to be beads. It's always beads for this, since it means he wants to put braids in Ori's hair," Glóin said. "You remember what I said with the offer gift, though? It doesn't matter how expensive the courting gifts are, as long as they're made by the one making the offer and show understanding of the recipient?"

Bilbo nodded. "But this one can't show either of those," he guessed. "Because not every dwarf is a jeweller, and it's always the same gift."

"Indeed!" Glóin nodded emphatically. "Also, this time it's the dwarf of higher status giving the gift, so more is expected of them, wealth-wise. The higher your rank, the grander the beads. Fíli has to show he considers Ori worthy of being part of his family, and since he's the crown prince, that's a lot to show indeed."

"Right." Bilbo frowned, looking as Ori finally opened the box and took out something small and glinting. Bilbo himself couldn't make out more than that it was gold, but he wasn't terribly surprised when all the dwarves around him gasped in awe.

"Mithril!" Balin murmured. "Mithril and gemstones, and made by his own hand if I'm not mistaken. The lad has outdone himself!"

Ori seemed somewhat overwhelmed for a moment, staring at the bead in his hand. "This is…"

"Sapphires," Fíli finished, apparently choosing a different approach than Balin. "Sapphires, blue and purple, for your line and mine." He smiled, easy and true, and he looked so much like the carefree young dwarf at the start of their journey that it almost made Bilbo's chest ache. "I love you, Ori, son of Vuori. I want to give you my braids and make you part of my house and my line. But I also know the name of my line is a heavy one, and the name of yours is not without honour. I will not have anyone think that to take the name of Durin you must forsake the line of Ri, and as I wish to make you one of my house I also hope to be one of yours."

"Oh, that's well done, and honourably so!" Glóin sniffled, tearing up without shame, and he wasn't the only one. Bilbo saw more than one dwarf dabbing at their eyes, with Dori crying openly. "That's a great lad, and make no mistake!"

"A great lad, and a great king one day," Balin agreed, stroking his beard. "No doubt he's learnt from his own family. Tuli was a fine dwarf, and much beloved by their mother, but few remember him and his line. It's well done of Fíli, making clear from the start that the line of Ri is not to be forgotten."

"Oh, that's our Fíli for sure." Bilbo found his own eyes tearing up as Ori drew Fíli into an embrace, only for them both to be immediately swarmed by family and friends wishing to congratulate them. Bilbo figured he'd better wait a while, or he'd be crushed by the crowd for sure.

And after all this was taken care of, he might take Balin aside to ask some questions.

*

Bilbo was late for dinner.

This was, Fíli was quite certain, a first. Not that Bilbo didn't sometimes get distracted when he found some particularly interesting tome or the like to bury his nose into, but in all the time Fíli had known him, from the beginning of the quest, he could count the times Bilbo had voluntarily been late for any sort of a meal on the fingers of one hand. For dinners after their retaking of the mountain, and particularly dinners where the entire Company was present, Bilbo had never been late to his recollection.

Ori seemed to notice his thoughtfulness, not that it was probably very hard with the way Fíli kept glancing towards the door every few minutes. It was quite inconsiderate of Bilbo to be so late and worry Fíli, really. This was a very nice dinner, he would have liked to enjoy it in peace.

"Is everything all right?" Ori murmured, leaning closer to him. "You seem rather distracted."

"Sorry." Fíli sighed, managing a smile in Ori's direction. "I was just wondering about Bilbo. I don't think he's ever been the last to show up for dinner, and certainly not late."

"Yes, I noticed that too." Of course he had. Ori always noticed more than he let on, he was dangerous like that. "I wonder why that is. I saw him just this morning, and he seemed to be somewhat distracted, but wouldn't tell me what was going on."

"This just isn't like Bilbo at all." Fíli pondered if he should ask Thorin for an explanation — surely he would know something about Bilbo's whereabouts — just as the door finally opened. Bilbo walked in, carrying what seemed to be a small package wrapped in a colourful cloth.

Ignoring all the greetings and questions, Bilbo walked right over to the side of the table where Thorin was seated, then stopped some distance away. "Dwalin? Could I bother you for a moment?"

"Certainly." And that was definitely strange, Fíli wasn't sure he had ever heard Dwalin use that word in such a politely formal fashion. Dwalin stood up from where he was sitting a few seats away from Thorin — one was left empty, being Bilbo's customary seat, followed by Kíli and Tauriel's spots — and walked over to Bilbo. "What do you need me for?"

"Ah. Dwalin, son of Fundin." Bilbo stood up as tall and straight as his small frame would allow, eyes locked on Dwalin and not straying toward anyone else. "I am Bilbo, son of Bungo, of the line of Baggins from the Shire, at your service." He bowed, holding tightly onto the package in his hands. "I come here today to make known my offer of courtship to Thorin, son of Thráin, King Under the Mountain. Because he is the head of his family, and you are known to be one of his closest friends, I bring my offer to you."

It was a good thing Fíli hadn't had anything in his mouth just then, as he probably would have inhaled it in a rather painful manner. Judging by some of the coughs around the table, some of his friends hadn't been quite so lucky. Even so, nobody said anything, everyone staring at the scene unfolding before them even as Bofur pounded Bombur on the back to dislodge whatever piece of food was trying to get the better of his brother. Fíli himself spared a glance to Thorin, who was suddenly very still and quiet indeed.

"I understand." Dwalin nodded, not looking very shaken by this. Perhaps he had been in on the plan? He certainly hadn't seemed surprised when Bilbo had asked for him. It would have been a good plan, involving him and making sure Bilbo had all the rules right before he got started. "Is there a gift to go with your offer?"

"Of course." Bilbo adjusted his grip on the package, handing it off to Dwalin. Dwalin took it in one hand, quickly opening its wrapping with the other. As the soft cloth around the hidden object fell away, it revealed what looked like… a pie? Yes, that was definitely one of Bilbo's pies, the kind that he wouldn't let anyone touch before they were absolutely ready.

Dwalin lifted the pie up for everyone to see, then stomped over to where Thorin was seated, still looking quite stunned. Dwalin didn't quite drop the pie on the table, but it was a near thing. Fíli had only just enough time to clear up a spot for the pastry from his seat at Thorin's side, seeing how his uncle didn't seem capable of doing it himself.

The pie looked absolutely delicious up close, not that Fíli had expected anything else. Even in the middle of the rather delicious dinner laid out, the smell was tantalising, and the crust was a lovely golden hue. There was an intricate shield in the middle of it, with a meticulously detailed oak leaf laid across, all formed from the same delicate pie crust. Fíli hadn't even known such detail was possible in what was, to his rather limited understanding of all things cooking-related, basically a glorified loaf of bread.

Thorin seemed to have recovered well enough to start inspecting the gift, Dwalin right at his elbow. Bilbo stood back patiently enough, though he seemed to be rocking from his heels to toes, awaiting judgement. Fíli had never seen his uncle paying such close attention to anything set on a table in front of him before. Thorin usually regarded food as a matter of fuel, nothing more, for all that he was quite happy to indulge in Bilbo's baked goods every now and then. This time he spent ages examining the pie from every angle, looking and smelling and even touching, before he even cut out the tiniest slice of it. This was followed by a very serious tasting, with Thorin and Dwalin both taking small bites of the slice of pie, pondering over each morsel as though examining an immeasurably precious jewel.

Then there were murmurs, too quiet for even Fíli to hear for all that everyone seemed to have fallen into a hushed silence. At last Dwalin straightened from where he had been leaning toward Thorin, turning to stride back to Bilbo.

"Your gift has been accepted, and your offer with it," Dwalin announced, and Fíli released a breath that he hadn't even realised he had been holding. Not that he had thought for a moment that Thorin wouldn't like Bilbo, but his uncle had done spectacularly stupid things before. "Know that you are expected to present your next gift exactly a month from now."

"Thank you, Master Dwalin." Bilbo bowed somewhat stiffly, then stood up again and grinned. "Now can I get some food? I'm positively starving."

This was the signal for everyone to jump out of their seats, apparently, as they all rushed to congratulate Bilbo at once. Well, most of them did, anyway. Fíli decided to take the opportunity to instead stand up and step over to his uncle, leaning down to hug Thorin. Bilbo would be free soon enough, he was sure.

"Seems all this courting business hasn't been for nothing," he said, unable to help the slightly teasing tone. "After all, our hobbit certainly seems to have taken this as a learning experience." And, right, he'd have to learn to be careful about another name now. At least for Tauriel he'd only have to watch out another month or so, and then it would be back to normal.

"It certainly seems so." Thorin smiled, his rare genuine smile that even his family often had to struggle to earn, then turned to look over to where a gaggle of dwarves had surrounded Bilbo. "Oi! As I recall, Bilbo said he'd like to get food! You can speak just as well at the table, I'm sure, so let him through!"

This indeed made the crowd to part just enough for Bilbo to slip out and toward his own seat at Thorin's side, with the others heading back to their interrupted meals. There was still plenty of noise, of course, and a few coin purses exchanged because there was apparently nothing the Company would not bet on when given the opportunity, but at least Bilbo did indeed get the chance to sit down and get some food. Which placed him right next to Thorin, but really, the two of them hardly seemed to mind.

"Well, this should make things interesting." Fíli grinned, reaching over to take Ori's hand to squeeze it. "Because preparing two royal weddings wasn't hassle enough." Sure, Kíli's courtship wasn't official yet, but it wasn't like there was any way he might turn Tauriel down. Fíli knew quite well that his brother was already almost done with his return gift to her, having insisted on making it himself instead of commissioning the beads.

"It's not like we're in too much of a hurry, anyway." Ori chuckled. "You know, I suspect you had better let your mother know about this. Somehow I don't think Thorin will remember to write to her right away, and goodness knows she won't be too pleased if nobody informs her in a timely manner."

"If I know my mother at all, you're right about that. It's going to be bad enough as it is, with her not being here to oversee the start of the courting."

"I'd imagine she will be involved enough once she gets here, though." Ori squeezed his hand before letting go to turn back to his dinner. "Which is quite fine with me, really. I don't think I want the responsibility of trying to figure out everything that's involved in such a thing."

"Don't worry about that. Between Dori and my mother, I don't think we'll have to worry about much, except enjoying our courting period and actually showing up for the wedding." And that thought certainly filled him with all the joy he could ever hope for. Sure, the formal courtship period might have seemed long, but at the end of it he would be married to Ori, and that made it all worthwhile. All the glory and gold in Erebor could not compare to feeling of having found his One, and his One considering him such in turn. Judging by the rather besotted smile on his uncle's face as Bilbo now chatted quite happily with him in between bites of his dinner, Fíli was not the only one who thought this, either.

Good. From what little he remembered of his etiquette classes on this particular subject, he suspected they would all need that feeling to make it through all the intricacies of a royal wedding or three.


End file.
